KRONE, an academic club in the College of Engineering at Kookmin University, hosted a mentoring program for current students on September 5, inviting alumni who are now working professionals.
 
Rather than a one-way lecture on job-hunting information, this event was designed as a forum for alumni and current students to discuss how major-related projects and various student activities experienced in college connect to actual job roles in the industry after graduation.
 
Participating in the mentoring session were graduates Im Hye-jin, who currently works in the Body Development Team at Hyundai Rotem, and Jang Ji-woong, who works in the Technical Verification Team at Hankook Tire—both former members of KRONE.
 
The two alumni shared their experiences designing and building aircraft while at KRONE during their college years, as well as details about their current roles and day-to-day work. They also shared specific insights, tailored to the students’ level of understanding, on how they described their project experiences from college in their cover letters and interviews, as well as the trials and errors they encountered while preparing for employment.
 
In particular, this mentoring session was significant not only for providing recruitment information or job-hunting tips for specific companies, but also for collectively exploring the question: “What should students experience during their college years, and how can they transform those experiences into their own competencies?”​
  
<Diverse Experiences at the College of Engineering Translate into Competencies for the Industrial Workplace>
 
KRONE is an academic club centered on students from Kookmin University’s College of Engineering that designs and builds unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and future mobility solutions.
 
Students apply the major-specific knowledge they learn in the classroom—such as aerodynamics, structural mechanics, mechanical design, and control engineering—to real-world projects, gaining hands-on experience throughout the entire process, from design and analysis to fabrication and testing. Recently, based on these activities, the club has won numerous awards at nationwide college student competitions.
 
However, what was emphasized during this mentoring session was not the “awards” themselves, but rather what the students learn through the process.
 
Completing a single project requires not only specialized knowledge but also the ability to solve unexpected problems, communication skills to reconcile differing opinions, and the ability to collaborate by dividing roles to produce the final result. These experiences develop into fundamental competencies for engineers that can be applied not only in the aerospace field but also in various other industries, such as automotive, mobility, and manufacturing.
 
This event served not only to introduce KRONE’s activities but also to demonstrate to students at Kookmin University’s College of Engineering the potential to expand the knowledge they gain in the classroom through various projects and student activities and to connect this to their future careers.
 
Although the types of clubs and projects may vary, the common advice from senior students was that the experience of defining problems independently in their fields of interest during college and solving them with teammates can be a valuable asset when deciding on a future career path and entering the workforce.
 
“The trial and error I went through in the club has become a great asset in my current job.”
 
Graduate Lim Hye-jin emphasized the connection between her project experiences in college and her current job.
 
“When I was working at KRONE, the process of brainstorming design plans with my teammates to complete the aircraft and continuously revising parts that didn’t go as planned felt challenging at times,” said Im. “Looking back, the very experience of solving problems with no predetermined answers together with my teammates has been a great help not only in preparing for employment but also in my current professional work.”
 
She continued, “I hope that current students will not focus solely on specific clubs or winning competitions, but rather gain as much experience as possible by diving into fields they’re interested in and creating tangible results while they’re in college.”
  
<“It’s Important to Be Able to Explain ‘Why’ You Did What You Did in College”>
 
Graduate Jang Ji-woong also advised that the process of reflecting on one’s college experiences and transforming them into personal strengths is crucial.
 
Graduate Jang said, “What I realized while preparing for employment was that it’s more important to be able to explain what problems you encountered during the process, what role you played, and what you learned—rather than simply listing how many activities you participated in.”
 
He continued, “Whether it’s KRONE activities, major courses, capstone design projects, undergraduate research, or other clubs and extracurricular activities—any experience can become a strong competitive advantage if you take the initiative to participate and clearly articulate its significance,” adding, “I hope underclassmen will actively take advantage of the various opportunities available at Kookmin University’s College of Engineering.”
  
<A virtuous cycle where seniors’ experiences help juniors avoid trial and error>
 
Professor Ha Chang Wan of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kookmin University, the faculty advisor for KRONE, attributed the significance of this event to the “connection between the experiences of seniors and juniors.”
 
Professor Ha remarked, “I believe the most important thing for students is not whether they joined a specific club, but rather how proactively they seek out experiences and take on challenges in their fields of interest while in college.” He continued, “Since the College of Engineering offers various opportunities—such as Capstone Design, academic clubs, and lab projects—where students can apply their major-specific knowledge to real-world problems, I hope many students will find activities that suit them and actively engage in them.”
 
He continued, “This mentoring program is particularly meaningful because alumni who, until just a few years ago, were grappling with challenges and working on projects in the same space have now grown in the industry and returned to campus to share their experiences with current students.” He added, “I hope this creates a virtuous cycle where the trials and errors experienced by seniors serve as a guide for juniors, and those juniors, having grown, in turn share their experiences with the next generation.”
 
Professor Ha added, “I look forward to seeing a culture flourish where not only KRONE students but all students in the College of Engineering can share their experiences with one another and interact with alumni to further define their career paths.”
  
<Kookmin University’s College of Engineering: Not Just “Activities for Special Students,” but a Place Where Anyone Can Create Their Own Experiences>
 
This mentoring session served not only as an opportunity to introduce the activities of KRONE students but also as a practical example of how to connect one’s major with a career path during college.
 
Each student’s areas of interest and career paths differ. Some build aircraft, others research automobiles or robots, while still others discover their passions through capstone design, lab projects, entrepreneurship, and extracurricular activities.
 
What matters is not merely participating in specific activities, but applying major-specific knowledge to real-world problems, collaborating with others, and transforming one’s own experiences into a meaningful journey of personal growth.
 
KRONE plans to continue operating projects related to the design and manufacturing of aircraft and future mobility solutions, as well as participation in various competitions, in addition to fostering interactions between upperclassmen and underclassmen, providing mentoring from industry professionals, and offering career and employment programs.
 
Through these efforts, the club aims to help students connect the major-specific knowledge and project experience they gain in college with their future careers and to sustain a virtuous cycle of academic club culture where graduates, in turn, share their experiences with younger students after graduation.